VP Chiwenga Clarifies On PSMAS Closure, Assures Su...

VP Chiwenga Clarifies On PSMAS Closure, Assures Subscribing Members of Gvt Support

Ailing Zimbabwe Acting President Chiwenga too poorly to work from office – The Zimbabwe Mail

Norton independent legislator Temba Mliswa has lamented the negative developments leading to the closure of some branches of PSMAS which he says shortchanges people like him with big families. The MP has disclosed he has 19 children.

Hon Mliswa recently directed a question in the august house to Vice-President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Constantine Chiwenga, on what government was doing about PSMAS.

“I have a point of order in terms of PSMAS which has been closed and Hon. Members are all subscribed to PSMAS to support Government.

“Right now when we are sick, where do we go? It is an emergency issue and our families are on PSMAS. I have 19 children and their medical aid is on PSMAS and if one of them is sick, what do I do now when we are in this situation?

“This is a service that we have already paid for. Clarity is sought from you Vice President and Minister of Health on PSMAS which has closed. Where can Members of Parliament go to when they are sick when they have already paid medical aid which is being deducted?”

In response, the Vice President said there was a forensic audit taking place at PSMAS as many things were not going right. He said he had since directed his Permanent Secretary to reopen all PSMAS branches that had closed down.

“We are putting medicines into those institutions so that our people get attended to. The issue of what should be done now, it is a matter which we will be discussing with the Ministry of Finance, the regulator and all stakeholders concerned, to say in the meantime, whilst the investigations are going on, we want the services because people will not stop to be sick. Therefore, they have to be attended to,” said the Vice-President.

He highlighted the need for the procurement of medical equipment that includes machinery for surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy equipment, humeral therapy and external beam radiotherapy machines.

“These had gone out of service and we had old machines. We are ordering, but those which had gone out of service, we are getting them repaired so that at any given time, we do not have a machine breaking down,” he added.